The Light of My Life
by Fae 206
Summary: Three years ago Hikari Hanazono was abducted by a gang leader. Treated as a sex slave and kept underground, Hikari had to be her only protection for three years. That was until her past boyfriend, and young business whiz Kei Takishima discovers her. Can Kei protect her whilst blaming himself for what happened and will he be able to help the ailing Hikari get her life back on track?
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:**

I want to start by saying that Special A is, and has been for many years now, one of my top five favorite anime/manga. It is up there with Skip Beat, Chi's Sweet Home, Love So Life, and Sailor Moon/V. That being said I am currently rereading it so I hope that you can forgive some things being ooc. I am also happy to say that though I would be happy to know if anyone is enjoying reading this I am rewriting this story (or making it much newer and updated) for myself.

Thank you for letting me go on about myself and let's begin.

 **The Light of My Life**

 **Chapter One :: Safety First**

Hikari Hanazono had always dreamed that there would be a moment as this, but she had thought it would be something trivial such as a ping pong match or something with bodily restrictions, something that was a defined challenge. She had not expected to log into the admissions page of one of the top colleges in the world to see the admission rankings as:

#1 Hanazono, Hikari  
#2 Takashima, Kei

Hikari stared at the rankings again and grinned as she scrolled through the hundreds of names. This wasn't done in alphabetical order. She clicked on her score and saw that she had done perfect on the test and paperwork, but had blown them away with her personality and her essay. That was how she had a .75 mark lead on him.

"I told you," she grinned to him as she stood up, "I told you that I'd beat you Taki-" she smiled proudly. She could probably do it now once he admitted his defeat, she could still see the astonishment in his…his dreamy smile always caught her off guard.

"Congratulations, Hikari or should I say number one," Kei smiled up at her happily. He watched the rest of the group watch him. They still had two more months left so what could they do now Hikari wasn't trying to be number one in anything.

"Tha-Thanks, Kei" she smiled, blushing over using his name but it made her feel so happy. She could now face herself and see herself as his equal.

Kei smiled happily hearing her say his name, he thought for a moment before grinning up at her. "So, how are you planning on proposing to me?"

Hikari took a step back in shock before smiling in determination, "Just you wait. I'll propose in a way that you will never be expecting. It'll be a proposal you'd never dream of saying no to," she laughed.

Kei smiled peacefully, "I don't think that's too hard," he said before taking a photo on his phone of her beating him. He looked at it. He had never been so happy to not be the number one ranked score, he was just a little confused about how it did happen.

He was about to suggest something to Hikari but she was running out.

He'd definitely be looking forward to this surprise. He liked to compete as much as she did, but now it might mean that he could become her husband too and then as her husband there were many things they could compete for and achieve together.

"You shouldn't be smiling so much, I'm sure my angel Hikari expected you to be in a state of defeat," Akira said as she looked towards the door that Hikari had exited.

'You should cry' Megumi wrote down but Kei was already in too much bliss.

Hikari was going to become his fiancée and then his wife.

Outside Hikari was running down the street when she heard the sirens and saw the smoke. It was next that she heard the screams for help. She couldn't get her 'propose to Takishima plan' off to a good start if she didn't go to help. It looked like a hostage situation and she was there to help.

 **Three Years Later**

Her name was Hikari Hanazono. She had been eighteen years old when she had been drugged, abducted, and brought to this dungeon. Although, this wasn't a dungeon. She had broken free of dungeons, she had defeated handfuls of men at a time and she had been in here for so long she had forgotten count.

How long was it since the last time she was forced to sleep with one of the gang members? How long was it since she had had any kind of food that wasn't from the leaky faucet? She was going to die here wasn't she, or she was going to drive herself mad. Maybe if that happened she could at least think about her happy places, her friends and her family instead of the mirrors, the bathroom, the bedroom, the entrapment.

She seemed to remember that there had been a plane involved in the beginning.

Yes, she had been in high school and was doing something…planning some kind of event and…then it had happened and nobody had found her. She curled herself into a ball and ran her hands down her arms. She pulled back in fear as she saw a syringe in her arm with something flowing through it. Was this what was keeping her alive?

Yanking it out, Hikari sat and felt light headed for a moment. She pushed herself back on the bed before hearing footsteps and noises. She shivered, she just had to do her work and then if she was good she would get food and maybe another blanket, if they were displeased with her then she would be hit or beaten.

Hopefully they still liked her. Over time she had gotten to be good at what they had ordered her to do to them.

The footsteps sounded different, more gentle, but even those who seemed gentle had a possibility of some kind of a gruesome psychological mess beneath the surface.

If she was going to get through this she had to remember him.

Kei. That was a name that she had never spoken aloud since the day that she had been abducted. It was a special name because it belonged to the person who had loved her the most. He had always been there for her wanting to keep her safe, to protect her. She just had to imagine this man as Kei and she would become limp and oblige him however he wanted.

"So, you've never been down here?" a young man asked as he went down to the basement, "I'm sure that our company wants to know if there are any skeletons in the closet."

Hikari smiled to herself, she was doing a good job. It was funny to have such a familiar voice in her head and it had never been this clear before. She could remember him praising her, looking after her.

"What is this?" the man growled, "There are people down here, that man is he dead? Did you know there were people down here?" he growled. "Get me a police officer now," he said and he paused on the staircase.

There weren't people down here, there was just her, that's what she had always been told but then it was funny, in these rooms you really could only see or hear a snippet and the noises weren't heard from inside. There must have been people surrounding her for a long time.

This person was new, he didn't want to hurt her did he? Would he be happy to see the skimpy maid outfit she had been forced to wear under a bright pink robe. She coughed and looked at the shoe. It was brown and nicely polished, he was probably some kind of reporter. Maybe this would be her ticket to freedom.

She was surprised to see the man turn in her direction before his body shook. The next thing she knew was that the man was outside her prison. Why was he outside of hers? She wasn't exactly gorgeous or rich or anything, she was young as well. Maybe not as young as she once was, but she was young enough, they'd want someone with more experience.

"I'm sorry," she heard the words, "I'm so sorry."

She just had to think of the guy she loved, she had to think of his happy face, his laugh, his voice, his…the man came towards her and put his hand on her forehead. She flinched away but started to take off her robe.

"Wha—What position?" she asked as he seemed to draw back.

"I am," the man adjusted with his glasses, his blonde hair was a mess and his face looked like her kind Takishima's. She was doing such a great job of imagining him here. "I am really sorry, you just…look like her, I don't mean to scare you."

Hikari looked up at him, he was frightened and anxious and didn't seem sure of himself at all. She would definitely have to pretend more to make him into Kei.

"Did you want oral?" she asked looking down as he stared at her as if she was some weird kind of zombie. She knew that she had dark marks and scars all over her body and her hair was a mess, but he had chosen her.

"No. We're getting the police officers in here as soon as possible, could you tell me your name?" he asked trying to be very kind and understanding, but he kept fiddling with his glasses. "Oh god, you look just like…"

"My name is Hanazo-" Hikari said slowly as she felt the hands on her again, he was holding her to him before she had even finished saying her whole name.

"Hikari," he said desperately, the sound of his heart breaking evident in his voice. "Will you let me pick you up? Will it hurt you if I do so?"

"I'm sorry?" Hikari asked as she looked into the face of the twenty-one year old. He was so desperate and frightened, she had disturbed him hadn't she? She had made things worse somehow. "Who are you?" she just needed a name, she could continue imagining him, but she wanted to hear a name. He knew her name.

"You don't remember m-" the guy started before sliding a hand down his face and covering his mouth. He looked just like Takishima did when he was trying to figure out a plan. "It's okay. I just want to get you to the hospital. My name is Takishima, Kei. We used to be…friends…" he said awkwardly, "or something like that, we got along pretty well and I just want to get you to a hospital and then you can talk to a police officer about this if that's okay?"

Hikari reached out for his hand and flinched as she did so, he almost pulled his hand away but she held on. "Kei?" she asked, "Takishima?" She started crying as he watched her, unsure what to do. "Of course I know my…boyfriend, but…"

"Everyone thought you were dead," Kei said. It looked like he was about to yell, but he reminded himself of what was happening at that moment and stopped trying to calm himself. "I let them make me stop looking. I believed you…I am so sorry. I can't forgive myself. If I had kept looking. I should have kept looking."

Hikari blinked hard as she looked at this older form of her boyfriend or wait – was he somebody else's boyfriend now? How old was he? She had missed out on being his girlfriend if he thought she was dead. He most likely would have married but he didn't have a ring on his finger. Maybe he was an unfaithful husband?

"Your wife?" she asked as Kei looked at her confused, "girlfriend," she corrected herself. "Does she make you happy?"

Kei sniffed and took off his glasses, she hadn't seen him before like this. She had seen him sad and with a cloud following him around, but nothing like this. He just didn't seem to be him anymore.

"I don't know," he said calmly, "I've only ever had one proper girlfriend and I thought she had been murdered and her body a mess of mutilation. I've never loved a second person like her, she's my number one and I still love her."

Hikari crawled towards him, her body turning stiff and rigid but the man could touch her very gently and soon she was in his arms. "I love my boyfriend," she said as he nodded.

"They must have brainwashed you to say that, but I promise that they won't lay a finger on you again," Kei swore. "What's your boyfriend's name?" he asked between clenched teeth. He had forgotten how she had referred to him as her boyfriend, that was years ago. Dressed like this there must have been someone who had forced himself on her.

"I think his name is Kei Takishima," she said as she looked up at him.

Kei smiled, "well he is a very very lucky man to have you as his girlfriend," he said as he held Hikari in his arms. As soon as his hands were around her though her entire body went rigid and limp.

'I promise whoever did this to you will suffer' Kei thought to himself as he just let the girl he loved sit with him. Nobody could dream of getting away with this.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: After rereading the ratings guide, I've decided to put this as T because even though the M rating does talk about explicit scenes, the bulk of this isn't about that and only refers to that not showing it, also the description on the summary should deter people who dislike this.

 **Chapter Two :: Make sure they're okay**

 _In an incident like this it was always important to find the main perpetrator of the crime. If she took him down then it was smooth sailings until the fire was out and the hostages were safe. She just had to be careful. The smoke was hard to see through, but she could hear a little boy crying for his mother. She had to help him. Bringing children into this kind of situation wasn't fair._

 _Feeling someone sneaking up on her side, Hikari quickly took a board of wood that had been singed by the fire and used it to give her support to knock the guy out with a hand spring. She had to think about pro wrestling. If she handled this situation like a match then she wouldn't have to spend too long in here._

 _Her first thought however was getting the innocent people out. She had walked across a fire pit so she knew she could handle the situation better than a lot of people. She started with the kids, making sure to grab at least three at a time and helping them out the building._

" _Look for something wet," she had told them, giving her bad teaching another try._

 _After the fourth trip, she went back into the building. "Hey, is there anyone else in here?" she asked, trying to cover her mouth as she coughed. She saw a figure on the far end crouching down among the flames._

" _Sir," she said, "You're going to have to come out, are you stuck?" she started to go towards him before seeing that he was wearing a protective suit that one might have in a chemical lab. "What are you—" she coughed again, it was hard to find the oxygen with the fire all around her._

" _You want to die?" the man asked her before holding up a gun._

" _I'm sure, I could dodge that bullet," she coughed as she bent in half, she wouldn't make it. There wasn't enough._

" _Oh feisty, I love feisty. I have a special room for you," the man said. Before Hikari realized what was happening, two men had grabbed her from behind and one had slipped a cough over her nose and mouth, after that it was just black._

 _In the SA greenhouse, Kei was starting to get nervous. He had thought that Hikari would be returning, but sometimes her plans did get more complex. He made his way to Akira, a knot tying together in his stomach. "Have you heard from her?" he asked as she turned to him._

" _I was just about to ask you the same question. You didn't trap her anywhere or do anything weird like kidnap her again, did you? I have my eyes on you when it comes to my precious Hikari," Akira said as she ate a piece of the cake she had baked earlier. She reached for her cup of tea before hearing a strange beep._

" _An announcement?" she asked._

" _Students of Hakusenkan. I regret to inform you that there has been an incident of arson and theft at one of our nearby stores. It was a dangerous situation, but there was only one known casualty. If it were not for the brave member of our school giving her life, there could have been a dozen or more deaths. Instead, we have to say thank you and regret to inform you of the death of the talented SA student Hanazono, Hikari."_

 _Akira dropped the teacup as her hand shook and tears filled her eyes, she covered her mouth and tried to keep herself from screaming. She was stuck as she tried to wrap her mind around it. The man in front of her looked like his spirit had left his body already. "K-K-Kei?" she asked before seeing him almost levitate and run full force out of the building._

 _She struggled to her feet but saw Ryuu and Tadashi both run out after him. She broke down in heavy sobs as Jun and Megumi came close to cuddle with her. Her poor poor Hikari-chan. It couldn't be happening…no, she refused to believe that she was gone._

….

…

Kei knew he should be paying undivided attention to whatever the doctor was telling him. This doctor was supposed to be helping Hikari heal and get better, but it was still taking some time for him to wrap his head around the fact that she was alive.

He nodded to the instructions given, his eyes not hiding his pain. She was sick, some of her organs had been hurt and she needed to have surgery after she had recovered a little. The scars would need cosmetic surgery which might need to be held back on due to the nerve damage she had in certain areas of her body.

From where she had been forced to pleasure men there were different injuries and Kei wished he had done something before this. He could only imagine what his sweet festival-loving angel had gone through.

Despite the protests, Kei had called the board and told them that he wouldn't be doing anything other than being here at the hospital for the next few days and if they had any problem with it, they could either fire him or he would hand in his resignation.

What mattered right now was helping Hikari, after all if they hadn't given up on finding her, if he hadn't given up then she might have been saved earlier. Funny thing was, he had thought he had been to that building before, he must have missed something or…he must not have seen the secret switch hidden behind the bookcase. He should have been more suspicious about things.

"You look…sad" Hikari said as she reached out to touch his hand, he squeezed hers back gently.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, "The pain killers are they working alright?" he asked nervously. He looked at her and touched a strand of her hair, so much longer than it had been. "Tell me if you need me to get a doctor."

"You're…an investigator?" Hikari asked as she looked at him again. "Your hair…I like it…" she waved her hand in the air. Kei rolled his eyes and smiled lovingly, his hair was very disheveled right now and in fact for three long years his appearance had been a mess. His work had been thorough and skillfully which was most important, but his personal life was a swirling wasteland.

"I thought that the doctors said that you need to think more about you," Kei smiled as he kissed her forehead extremely gently. He heard a knock on the door and saw Hikari flinch. "It's okay," he tried to tell her, "I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt you. I did tell some people you were alive though, maybe someone came to see you."

Hikari shivered and tried to hide under the blanket. Kei frowned. He was under obligation to tell the Hanazono family and so he had called them first, but they wouldn't be able to get here all the way from Japan. Since they were in London though there might be someone closer.

He blocked the door and smiled as he saw two of their long-time friends, in fact these were too people that no matter how he acted, Kei couldn't shake. They had broken up once during the three years but had come back together when he had thought they might get together.

That had been quite a time to show the school director's son what was going on.

"You said…Hikari's alive?" Akira Todou asked as she tried to see inside the room, "Kei, get your body out from blocking the door. I'm not going to do any harm, you know that."

"Yea, I mean, if anything those guys are…" Tadashi laughed before he felt himself fly back as he was hit. "One day you're going to break this body."

"Don't bring that subject up whilst she's not ready to talk about it, what kind of idiot are you?" Kei growled knowing his real anger wasn't for this fool in front of him. He paused realizing that Akira was now in the room.

"Oh my gosh" she said as she saw the damaged girl look at her. She went up to her and sat down on the corner of the bed, placing protective hands on face and shoulder. "Oh my gosh, you're alive. I mean…your face," she started to cry a little. "Please don't go away," she said. "I should have stopped you, we could have gone together to get things for you to propose to him…I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

"Pro-pose?" Hikari asked before looking at Akira. She managed to sit up a little more and tried to put her arms around her friend but pulled back when she felt a pain.

Instantly Kei was at her side. "Tell me where it hurts," he said quickly. "Do you need me to go get a doctor? You need to tell us if you're in pain."

Akira watched her friend as his face showed all the grief and concern that had been plastered on since Hikari was supposedly murdered. "I'm holding her. I can help my Hikari feel better," she said stubbornly. She sighed though, "but seriously, tell us if it hurts at all. This guy was the last person who stopped looking and I can tell you, I've never seen someone in much in love, he was a complete mess without you. Very uncool."

"I didn't care about being cool," Kei argued, "I cared about the girl…the woman I love. I still care about her," he sighed, "though she was the second to last person to give up. I had to convince her to consider it because she might have put herself at risk. I'm sorry I did that."

"So hypercritical," Akira sighed, "It took all five of us to sit you down and convince you"

"Yeah, it wasn't easy to get a building locked for seventy-two hours and when I say locked, I mean in that crazy, prison hold, no Takishima escape route kind of way," Tadashi commented as he sat down in a seat near Akira.

Kei looked down, "If I hadn't had let you convince me then I might have been able to save her," he argued. "All I was doing when I found her was inspecting a building that we could use for the Takishima company branch out here, if we hadn't been expanding the company."

"Then you should have kept looking," Tadashi argued, "You really changed in your personality when you had given u-"

At that point both Kei and Akira hit Tadashi at the same time. Right now it was all about Hikari being better and stepping into her new life, she was most likely scared and even though to him, three years seemed…well to him three years seemed like an eternity, but to the regular person it wasn't that long a span of time. Hikari however, he had no idea what those years were to her.

Hearing a quiet buzz on his phone, Kei took it out and looked at it. "Look, I'll be back in just a little bit. There's something that I need to do and I have some of my private security looking after you, plus these two here," he said as he handed both Akira and Tadashi identical lists of the men he had hired.

"Will you be okay?" he asked nervously. He knew he had to do something against the men who had hurt her so badly, but he didn't want to leave her if she needed him.

"You promise you'll come back?" she asked as she reached to hug him.

Kei inhaled but hugged her close and still held her so gently and so lovingly to protect her. "I promise," he nodded before he stepped out of the hospital.

…

…

So this wretched place had been the room in which his precious Hikari had been kept for three years. She had done nothing wrong and now she was scarred inside and outside because people wanted her as a prize. They had had a funeral, given up looking – although he was the very last one -, and said she was dead. How could he do something like that when his angel was sitting in here being forced against her will to do acts he would have never pushed her into. He pressed his back against the wall as he tried to keep strong.

She must have been so terrified every night. Maybe they had threatened to kill her, the doctors definitely said she had suffered injuries worse than you could see by looking at her. If everything was worse beneath those bruises and scars then he didn't want to think about the way she had been treated.

As Kei stared at the prison room, he heard voices and footsteps. If they dared to approach him he would try to hold back on killing them, but no promises.

"Where the hell are they?" one of the guys asked, "They were all here. Why are the doors open?" he asked as he looked at the different cells.

"That door isn't open," one man said, "that girl was always able to give what I wanted. Sure she'll be as flexible with three of us there. Very obedient."

Kei clenched his fist and closed his eyes trying to wait for the best moment. How dare they talk about Hikari like this!? He looked up at the door as it opened and he saw the three men. He took in their entire appearance before continuing to sit there defiantly.

"Who the fuck are you!?" one of the guys asked.

Kei looked up at him with such hatred in his eyes that the men felt their skin being cut already. "Are you looking for my girlfriend?" he asked as he stood up. "You used gas on her, didn't you?" he asked, "Must have been easy to fuck her whenever you felt the urge." He shook his head, "I'm sure you'd rejoice at suffering the same injuries that you caused her," he said as he made a fist.

He had to hold back enough not to kill these assholes.

He continued to stand, looking at the three men and shook his head. "You're the worst," he said before seeing two of them rush forward at the same time as if to restrain him but as soon as they were close enough to make contact, Kei had knocked them out onto the floor. They both whacked their head as Kei approached the third guy.

"I'm not playing around," he said in a dark voice, "Are you the one who took her away from the life she had or was that someone else? Someone higher up the chain?" he asked as he grabbed the man in front of him, holding him against the wall with his fingers stretching over the man's throat.

"I can't talk 'bout the boss so go ahead and kill me," he laughed as Kei's eyes narrowed.

"You're not worth killing," he said as he put more pressure on the guy's throat, "Now tell me who took her here!" he snapped.

The man looked at him but then as his oxygen was cut, he fell down. As soon as he had lost his breath, Kei let him go and fall limp onto the floor. If he moved quickly he could investigate and find out the names of their contacts, their own identifications, he could find enough to gain safety if they ever wanted to hurt her for revenge.

As he went through the suffocated man's phone, he saw a few videos there. He looked over them and then chose one to play. His eyes filled with tears and his heartbeat quickened. These were videos of his princess being raped. His hand shook and he took the phone himself.

"How dare you," he whispered as he memorized them again. "How dare you do that to someone so innocent."

He took out his own phone and sent a message to the police officers who were waiting outside. These bastards needed to be locked up and he needed to get back to his Hikari.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three – Give Her Your Best**

 _Kei stared at the ashes of the building and of the objects that had been concealed within. He saw the guns, the weapons and he had seen everything that one would need to perform arson like this. He had also seen something that frightened him._

 _Slumped against a rock was Hikari's bag and the police officer had already shown him the ID._

 _There was proof that Hikari had been here, but that's all that there was proof of. Whatever the officers were reporting, that was wrong. Hikari was probably running after the criminals now and she would return with them in hand._

 _Everything would be sorted out and then he could yell at her for acting so foolishly._

 _He tried to examine the scene to figure out exactly how Hikari would react in this situation, she would get safe. She would get to somewhere high and quiet and most of all safe. At least, Kei was hoping she wouldn't have landed herself in further danger._

 _As his eyes swept through the crime scene in front of him, he saw a body with long black hair. He froze as he took a few steps onto the rubble and pulled the body out. He had had to dig a little but he was surprised nobody else had done this._

 _He felt his nerves shot through him as he realized the body was dressed in Hikari's clothes. The measurement of the body, the weight of the body, everything seemed like Hikari._

 _Could someone who had not actively selected Hikari herself plan this in ahead? Was this supposed to be a crime that would lure someone like Hikari in? He felt his body shake as he tried not to break down. This was a body that was wearing Hikari's clothes, that had Hikari's hair, but it wasn't Hikari._

 _Kei's breath quickened as he tried to look at the face of the woman but all he could see was black skin. He dropped the body and backed away. Why would someone have left that black mess there instead of a human face. Kei felt his stomach sink and the whole world started to freeze over him._

" _Please, that can't be…" he whispered, begging for something to tell him otherwise._

 _It couldn't be his Hikari._

….

….

Kei sighed as he returned to the hospital room where Tadashi was sleeping as well as Hikari. He frowned. How could they all sleep here like this? This was a dangerous situation and people's awareness was definitely not at the level needed if they were all asleep. He came towards Tadashi as if to hit him before hearing Akira's voice and seeing her watching him.

"I'm not going to stop you, but it's okay, she's fine," Akira whispered as Kei took a couple of steps back. He sighed and sat down, running a hand through his hair.

Akira curled closer to her amazing high school best friend and watched the man in front of her. "How are you feeling?"

Kei sighed before inhaling again. "I don't know," he admitted, "Fed up. Exhausted. Elated. It's a lot to process, but if you're asking me what I'm feeling the most, joy. I know there's a lot of things going on and a lot of really messed up things," he spat, "but the girl that I love is alive. We all thought that she was gone and she is here with us again."

"You're mad you gave up, right?" Akira asked as Kei stood up and came to the other side of Hikari. He picked up a strand of her hair gently. "I'm sorry, if I had…"

"I can't change what happened," Kei said as he looked at Hikari. "I can't change why I became the man I am today or what she went through. All I can do is commit to being there for her and loving her as I always wanted to."

Akira nuzzled Hikari's neck again, "I'm so sorry Kei," she sniffed as tears soaked into the bedsheets on the hospital bed. "I'm sorry."

Kei looked in front of him, "You're not at fault. Akira, you do know you're the one who stopped me from giving up and I don't just mean on searching for her. Do you remember when you came to the hospital?" he asked. He sighed deeply trying not to hold onto the hard feelings from the past.

"Yes," Akira nodded. "Look, I know why you tried to ki-"

Kei raised a hand and shook his head. He didn't need Hikari to know that he had tried to end his own life and had failed at it. He didn't want to tell Hikari how both Atsushi and Sui had gotten hold of the medics who had saved him. He didn't want to say that it was after a dinner with Hikari's family it had happened. He most definitely didn't need to know that he thought, for a while, that it might be for the best to join her in the afterworld.

"Everyone around me was either apologizing to me or telling me how much they cared about me. When you came you actually yelled at me," he smiled, "told me how Hikari wouldn't forgive me for doing that and that I should live for her memory. You told me that I was a failure and I needed to stop thinking about myself."

"I think I tried to hit you too," Akira smiled gently as Kei laughed.

"Tried is the key word there," he commented as he raised an eyebrow. "You must not have realized it, but it reminded me of the way Hikari would encourage me," he said as Akira laughed.

"I knew, that's exactly how I knew it would work," she smiled.

Kei smiled in surprise and shook his head. He watched Hikari and put a hand on her pulse just to remind himself that she was alive. He struggled to keep himself from shaking. There was so much fear about how best to take care of her after the trauma that she must have suffered. He didn't know what she wanted to do next or if she wanted to figure out a way to go to college. If they announced her as being alive then they could get her her high school diploma no question, but what about the future.

"Kei," Hikari whispered as she slowly opened her eyes, she smiled softly as she saw the radiant smile on the blond's face. "You're smiling,"

"Yeah, is it okay?" Kei asked jokingly.

He had seen her sick before and this seemed very similar to that time. He didn't care if she followed him around wrapped in blankets as long as she wasn't doing damage to herself. He didn't care what she said or what she did as long as she was okay. He would stand there and help with anything because in that moment, he would do anything in the world for her.

"I like it," Hikari grinned. She felt herself move a little, "I…I need a l-loan" she said.

"I'll give you the money, Hikari," Akira said as she wrapped her arms closer around her in a friendly way. "I'll give you all the money that I have or I could sell something. Let me be the one to…"

Kei's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. Taking a deep breath in he waited, closed his eyes, and exhaled. "I'll pay," he said.

Hikari opened her mouth as tears filled her eyes, "No, it's…it's okay, I…" she said nervously as Kei watched her.

He took her hand and stroked the back with his thumb, "Anything," he repeated, "You don't even have to tell me."

"I want to go and get my hair cut and some ointment for the scars and some clothes," she said nervously.

Kei blinked hard before grinning, "Sure," he grinned. "We can go shopping for all of that. Sounds fun?"

Akira cried a little more, "It does not sound fun, Kei. I need to go shopping with Hikari. It's so much more fun for girls to go shopping with other girls,"

Kei smiled again, he leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. "I don't know, it sounds fun."

"Maybe you just want to see the panties that Hikari wants to…" Tadashi began before being frightened by the small fire that burned in Kei's narrowed glare. Akira watched the two before pulling back.

"If Hikari doesn't want me in that store then I won't go in there with her," Kei commented. "I would do nothing to hurt her or make her uncomfortable. Don't you get what she's been thr-" he said as the fire increased.

Kei stood, his face showing his years of exhaustion and heartache, his body showing his increasing frustration at the present. It was only when Hikari coughed that his face turned to one of panic and he turned his body towards her.

"I…" Hikari smiled as Kei felt tears in his eyes looking at her, she was so delicate and there was so much he wanted to do to take care of her. "I'd like to go with both of you," she admitted.

Kei nodded with a relieved look on his face, "Sure, anything."

Akira squealed excitedly, "This is going to be so much fun," she told Hikari as she cuddled her again. She was shocked when Hikari slipped away from her and instead stood and went to Kei.

"I am so happy that you're here," she told him before crying onto his chest. "I love you."

As he leaned down to kiss her, Kei felt his body gently swoop her up into a princess hold and he gazed into her eyes. He sat on the bed and let her body rest against his as he held her. He was worried that they might be too close for her comfort, that he was scaring her by taking initiative like that. Kei hated that he had to worry about what she had been through with other men.

His love for Hikari was on no account bound by any sort of physical relationship.

He would always love Hikari unconditionally.

"I love you, too" he promised her. "You need to get some sleep though. The doctors are going to worry about you if you get out of bed. We will go shopping together as soon as you are better," he assured her as he kissed her forehead.

"Takishima?" Hikari asked as Kei nodded, picking up a blanket and wrapping it around her.

"What is it? My sweet Hikari?" he asked as he gently let his fingers run over her shoulder, he realized how shaky his fingers were, scared to leave damage on anything so precious.

"I'm going to propose to you," she said as Kei felt his heart beat quicken and his eyes cloud, "and you're going to say yes."

"Yes," Kei nodded, "Yes, I am."

…..

….

 _Kei hated the sound of the beeps coming from the machine. He hated how cramped the room was with all of the equipment. He hated how the doctors had managed to save him from a near fatal gun wound. It all made him seem like a failure. He was supposed to be under watch until they felt that it was safe for him to leave. It would never be safe._

 _He had been looking for Hikari for such a long time and there wasn't anything that he could think of to do next. For far longer than a year he had been playing back the incidents of that date over and over and only coming to half-conclusions._

 _He had been told that she had died. Maybe it was true, maybe he just needed to admit it, but then maybe if he was dead too they would be together. It happened in all of those stupid legends._

 _As he started to detach himself from the machines, Kei turned to the side. Was this someone else in his life who was just going to fall apart because he couldn't handle the world. Why should he have to play therapist to whoever this was? His life goal had been to protect Hikari, he had failed, surely that allowed him permission to give up._

" _Are you planning on leaving, you jackass?" Akira asked as she stood in the doorway._

" _It's none of your business," Kei hissed as he stood, pushing away the IV from himself. He felt a pain in his chest._

" _You lying manipulative asshole!" Akira screamed, "You think killing yourself and giving up is easy!? You know what, it's very easy! It's so easy that you seem pathetic doing it! Imagine what Hikari would say!"_

 _Kei felt his body freeze and he turned to his friend, "Hikari isn't here anymore. I don't know where she is and the reason she's not here is because of me, it's something that you all seem to be forgetting."_

 _Akira laughed, "Sure. You want to believe that you killed her, sure," she said coldly, "but then you are really pissing her off for killing her and then blaming her for your own death. Do you think she'll forgive you for giving up? I mean, not a lot of number one trophies for dying. Even if the two of you did meet, she'll never see you as number one again. She'll just see you as someone unwilling to even try."_

 _Kei took a deep breath in, "Nobody cares that I'm at the top of the pack!" he snapped, "Nobody else cares who is number one!"_

" _Then make them care," Akira grinned, "Prove to them that you are number one and that you live your life in memory of your biggest rival and then when you are given your chance to meet Hikari again, she'll be happy because she'll be able to meet number one, her number one."_

 _Akira took a deep breath in and a step towards the shaking patient, "You are always her number one, Kei. Don't disappoint her now."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four – How Do I Do This?**

 _One week later and the funeral was already being planned, much to Kei's objection that Hikari was still out there. Apparently there had been DNA found on the body and the burned remains of Hikari's SA jacket that linked the victim to her. There were also witness testimony that she had been in there. Kei still refused to believe it though._

 _Every day he would come to the school grounds but only sit in the tallest tree observing everything. It had become a sort of oddity that students were afraid of, but he didn't care. He was still convincing himself that somehow Hikari would appear and she would come to the school and he could yell at her for being so stupid._

 _She had to be alive. He didn't feel that she was dead, or at least not dead yet. It was something in his heart that he felt connected him to her and he felt that she was fighting, her heart still beating. He just needed to wait and one day she would show up._

" _I'm sorry to tell you," Ryuu said as he looked up at the student in the tree, "but one day that branch is going to break, plus you're scaring all the birds who want to have their nest there."_

" _They'll find another nest and there's plenty of branches," Kei argued as he ran his hand through his hair. He knew he looked crazy, but being crazy was worth it if he managed to find her. She was probably jumping fences and sneaking onto school grounds at any moment, he just needed to be observant._

" _We're all suffering," Ryuu tried to state as Kei ignored him. "They think you've lost your mind. The students, I mean."_

 _Kei was silent for a little bit before laughing coldly, "I don't care what they think. If they think I'm crazy then let them think that, I don't particularly give a damn. It'll be easier to spot her from up here."_

" _Kei, she's dead. I don't like admitting that either, but please assure us that you won't spend her funeral in a tree."_

 _Kei stared down at the animal lover, "Hikari isn't dead!" he snapped, his eyes narrowing as he committed himself to that thought. She couldn't be dead. She was going to propose to him, she was just finding some completely elaborate way of doing it. She shouldn't be overdoing herself like that._

" _Okay," Ryuu said slowly and carefully, "but if at any point you feel like being with the rest of us, we'll always welcome you." He sighed before walking away from the tree. He didn't know how to help his friend because staying all day, every day, at the top of a tree wasn't the behavior of any sane person._

…

…

It was the early morning hours when Kei woke up with his head resting on Hikari's bed. Although he had managed to get some rest, his body was still on edge and he would become alert to any movement in the room. The fact he had slept so long meant that Hikari had managed to rest as well. His eye cracked open as he saw a doctor approaching the hospital room.

"Sir, we're going to have to ask you again to leave. If you refuse, we'll have to get security," the doctor told him as he sharpened his look at her.

"I'm not leaving. Her family isn't here and I'm not leaving," he argued. "She needs someone with her."

The doctor hesitated a little, "that was true before, but since she does have family here we can't make an exception for you any longer," she said as Kei glared at her.

"I want to see this family member," he said as he held Hikari's hand securely. After all of the time that they spent apart he wouldn't leave her side. He was too afraid of something happening again or of her disappearing. He was also suspicious that whoever this family member was wasn't actually family.

That thought vanished and he smiled slightly in relief seeing Jiro Hanazono at the doorway.

"I'm sorry," he told Hikari's father, "I'm refusing to leave her side."

"So you should," Jiro replied. "Doctor, this man is considered a part of our family and I'm going to insist that he stays." Kei closed his eyes a little in relief as he heard the carpenter stand up for him. "If certain events had not happened, then I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that this man here would be my son, or son-in-law. I insist that in this case you give him the same rights as you would give my daughter's husband," he said as his body shook.

'Daughter' the word flashed through his mind and he looked at his little girl in the bed. His daughter was badly hurt both physically and psychologically, but his daughter was back from the grave. She hadn't died and he was a mix of emotions. However seeing the girl in the bed brought tears to his own eyes. She was alive. She would get better. She was alive.

"Hospital policy states that only family should be with her," the doctor said as Kei kissed Hikari's hand.

"I refuse to leave her," he argued again, "I can't leave her."

"I refuse to have him leave," Jiro nodded. "That man, I repeat, is family. Maybe it doesn't say so on an ID yet, but he is part of our family. He has every right to stay here."

As the doctor nodded reluctantly and left, Kei pushed his forehead to the mattress.

"Thank you," he whispered as Jiro approached the girl – no woman – in the bed. His body shook as he noticed the scars and wounds on her body and the broken spirit that existed within. However, this wasn't a corpse. This was his daughter, his precious hardworking, energetic, compassionate, airheaded daughter.

"Are you doing alright?" Jiro asked as he put a hand to Kei's back trying to comfort him. "You always try too hard to be strong," he nodded before going over and sitting on the other side of Hikari. He gently tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

Kei saw her stirring and sat up immediately, his eyes showing his concern for her.

Hikari's eyes opened slightly and she looked at her father, "D-dad?" she asked sadly.

"Hey, kid" he said as he took a deep breath in, "How are you feeling?"

Hikari studied him, the pain of losing his daughter had really brought age to his look. He no longer had the completely firm appearance of a carpenter and wrestling fan, but the loss of his youngest child had given him some insecurity. Kei knew that that had probably shifted to a different kind of pain when he had explained the situation to him over the phone and during the plane ride over.

"I…I'm alright," Hikari tried to smile before it appeared she was entering a panic attack. Kei immediately stood up, his eyes with a deeper concern in them. "Did Kei—Did Takishima leave?" she asked before feeling a hand on her upper arm.

"I'm right here," Kei commented. "You should know I'd never leave you, now rest, even if you don't sleep then please get some rest."

Hikari felt her body calm as she felt the relief that he was there, still there, still protecting her. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Thank you," which made Kei sit down again.

"So, the doctors have you hooked up to some pain killers, right?" Jiro asked not sure what else to say to his daughter. He wasn't used to seeing her so weak and dependent on someone else, not even someone he trusted as much as the man opposite him. His daughter had been through so much and he didn't even know how to approach the subject and make sure that she was okay.

"Yeah," Hikari nodded, "Kei made sure I had everything," she smiled.

Jiro nodded, "He's a good guy. I thought you always called him by his last name though."

Was that alright to say? Was it okay to mention something that was even the slightest difference in her?

Hikari inhaled and then felt tears in her eyes, "My l-love for K-Kei kept me alive," she tried to explain.

The blond blinked hard. He had known that she loved him and he had known that he was still – thankfully – incredibly special to her, but that was the first time she had said that. _He_ had been her driving force to survive and yet he had only found her by accident. He didn't believe he had kept her alive at all.

"Well, I can't begin to thank both of you enough," he saw Kei's guilty expression about not finding Hikari years ago. "Thank you for fighting," he told his daughter, "and thank you for giving my daughter something to fight for," he smiled at the blond.

Kei shifted uncomfortably. He was about to say that he hadn't done anything but would that be disrespectful in this situation. He had always wanted to protect her and after feeling that she had died but not acknowledging it at that point, he had tried to kill himself. He still had the scars from that event and he'd have to explain them at some point.

He hadn't even been going through what she had and he had tried to find an exit. She had continued fighting, continued hurting and all he had given her were memories. He shouldn't have ever stopped looking for her. He should have never have let himself become convinced that she was dead.

"I'm really sorry," he said with his head bowed.

He should have done so much more.

….

….

It was two days later that Kei had finally brought himself to go home for longer than to take a shower and grab a new set of clothes. He had only done that when he could send Aoi to sit outside the room and make sure no one broke through the security he had put in place.

This time however it wasn't just to take a shower, change clothes, or even to eat something. He was in the middle of doing some very painful research. At his desk he had three computer screens showing footage he had found of Hikari in that place.

It was the worst thing he had ever watched and he hated himself for doing it behind her back, but if he could try to take pictures of all these men – and there were many men – who had hurt her so unforgivably, he would be able to keep her safe.

On the desk were a pile of books and medical journals which all dealt with how to take care of someone who was abducted, someone who was raped, and the different psychological effects that followed such a horrifying torture.

He had to force himself to see the faces, recognize the voices, and not tear himself apart in the pain it caused him to see her like this. Somehow the gang who had run that place had had a database of all their victims with a great degree of security around it. It had taken him about twelve minutes to break in and hack the site.

Hearing her screams once again, Kei wrapped his arms around himself to keep himself together. He felt that he shouldn't be watching this, he shouldn't be betraying her trust and this was causing torture to himself that he wouldn't be able to break free of. He never wanted to tell her about this, but he needed to track these assholes down and bring the punishment to them that they deserved. If he couldn't do that, he could at least make sure that nobody would ever come near her again.

As he closed his eyes he heard a knock on the door and froze.

"Who the hell is it!?" he snapped angrily, "Whoever the fuck you are get the hell out of here!"

He heard someone playing with the lock and made his way over to the door. They couldn't be serious, could they? He angrily opened the door expecting to see one of the gang members who had tracked him down and was shocked to see his younger brother standing there.

"What are you doing?" Kei asked in a scarily low voice, his hands dropping to his side and his fist unclenching.

"I was worried about you, big brother" Sui replied before his eyesight latched onto one of the computer screens in the other room. "Is that Hikari?" he asked as Kei paled and pulled him inside. He didn't want this conversation leaked at all.

"Yes," he commented. "What do you want?"

"You're doing research aren't you?" Sui asked as he concentrated on the picture, "I mean, you're not sick enough to actually like watching that, right?"

Kei stared at his brother wide eyed. "Of course I'm not sick enough to watch that for pleasure! Who the hell in this world would do that and not expect me to rip their guts out! I need to make sure that none of those sick bastards gets near her again!" Kei took a few deep breaths, "What are you doing here?"

Sui looked away, "I heard she was alive. I needed to make sure that you were."

Kei paused and nodded.

He understood because Sui was one of the people who had saved his life. Of course he would be concerned about him.

"I understand," he replied, his entire body breaking once again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note:** Sorry for not updating for a while, I've been interested in some other things and only just got more inspiration to write all of this. I hope you enjoy it. Also I didn't really meet my wish for 2,000 words but hopefully it's not too short for your tastes 😊

 **Chapter Five - Remember**

" _Get in there!" a man yelled at her as Hikari was scared about how weak she was. She had always had the option to fight back but now she just had to submit to whatever these men were telling her to do. She hated that feeling, the feeling that she wasn't able to do anything. All she was was their toy._

 _She felt her body shoved onto the cold floor of this holding cell. Maybe once the drugs they had put in her had exited her system, she would be able to kick these doors down. She would be able to escape. Even when she had been in foreign countries, Takishima had come to his rescue._

 _If she escaped here, managed to find a phone, and managed to get in contact with him then he would charge down here as well, wouldn't he?_

 _She wondered what he was doing now. She wondered whether he knew that she was not able to be found, that someone had taken her away. She could imagine his panicked face and his worried face but it was terrifying her how hard it was to think of his gorgeous happy face._

 _What nobody else knew about Kei was how scared he was inside. How, even though he was talented, resourceful, handsome, and intelligent, he had a fear inside and he didn't want to be alone. She was able to make him feel together with someone else, but if she was here then did he have enough?_

 _She had to get back to him. It was necessary that she was back with Takishima._

 _She just had to find her escape from this place. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long to do so._

….

….

After a long period of time making note of each and every guy who had abused Hikari over the first three years, Kei knew he needed sunlight. He needed to try to wash away the repulsion about doing that. He needed to get back to his girlfriend – and soon to be fiancée – to make sure that she was alright.

Those men had done some sickening things to the beautiful girl and if Kei was just expecting her to be the same after it all happened, well then he was an idiot. The girl he had known as a teenager had been full of life and full of hope. She had been willing to help others, willing to be there beside others to see the true light inside of them. She had seen the light inside of _him_ when everyone had called him a monster.

Running a hand through his blond hair, he managed to turn off the computers so that nobody would see what he was doing and he wouldn't scare the girl he loved. She couldn't know that he was doing this. He didn't know how she would ever be able to trust him if she knew he was doing this.

As he put on his jacket, he decided to take a walk and get something for Hikari before going to the hospital. As he got out into the sun, he felt a little bit more comforted. He had finally showered properly and changed into something casual but still nice, he had made sure to take care of his hair as well.

He hoped that she would forgive his absence, but it was work in the name of love. Maybe that would mean more to her.

As Kei passed people on the street, his mind seemed to flash to different aspects of them as if studying whether they had made an appearance on the surveillance footage or not. He didn't see any of those sick perverts here, he saw similar traits but nobody fit the whole look of any of those men. He kept his head bowed, he shouldn't be thinking about this so deeply.

He just needed to get it out of his head for a while.

Still, would he ever be able to get her screams, her cries, her fear out of his head.

Kei needed to clear his mind and think of a different subject, he needed to start looking ahead and thinking about the future instead of keeping his mind chained to the past. He hadn't helped Hikari and he had let her suffer due to not knowing where she was. As much as he blamed himself for that, he wasn't able to change that.

What he could promise was to take care of her in the future.

He wondered how she would try to propose to him, but he knew that it would surely be a moment that he would never be able to forget. He would have to take time preparing for that and giving her money to make it perfect. There were so many things that they could do and making it a festival was a good idea. Whatever he did now in his life, what he wanted most was to see her smile.

As Kei stood there, trying to concentrate on what _might_ happen, he heard his phone ring. He looked down at it and saw that there were two messages from the company and one message from his father. He didn't want to go into the office right now, maybe working was what really had kept Hikari bound for such an unforgivable duration.

He switched it off knowing that he would always put her first, there wasn't any other choice for him.

Hikari Hanazono – maybe soon Hikari Takishima – would always come first for him.

….

….

As Megumi stood with her brother outside of the hospital room, tears filled her eyes and she attempted to sniff away the tears. She had felt so much pain when her friend died. She had understood that if someone foolishly and recklessly ran into a building like that there were consequences. Usually those consequences weren't getting locked into a dungeon and getting caught as a sex slave.

That was bizarre and she hated that it had happened especially to one she cared so much about.

"We're so happy that you're okay," Jun said as he took a step forward.

"Getting there," Hikari nodded, she looked over at the twins. They both looked like such beautiful adults. Jun looked like a prince and Megumi like an elegant young lady you would see in all of the media reports about the major balls. On Jun's ring finger was a silver band and on Megumi's was a pink, blue, and diamond ring.

They were both married?

"I'm," Megumi spoke as she took a few steps towards the hospitalized girl, "I'm very glad to see you," she blushed before looking down.

Hikari smiled as she looked down, she laughed slightly. "I can't believe I missed you talking so much," she said as she reflected back on the times when Megumi would only talk with her writing. The last thing she had known was that Megumi was practicing her singing and could talk in rare occasions but really just wanted to preserve her voice.

"It's okay," Megumi continued, her voice very soft and gentle, maybe even the type of voice that one would describe as fragile. "You didn't want this."

"She's right," Jun tried to comfort his old friend, "We didn't want you to go through this. Sure, it might not have been the best idea to be so foolish, but we didn't want this. If you had asked us for help," he tried to say before hearing a voice behind him.

"And how was she supposed to do that?" Kei asked as his eyes narrowed. "None of what she has gone through is her fault. I think if they had given her an escape route she would have taken it. Please show more concern and consideration," he told the famous musician.

"Kei," Hikari whispered as she reached a hand out for him.

Kei smiled as he made his way over to Hikari's bedside. "Sorry that took so long," he apologized as he sat down at a chair next to her. He felt a bit of guilt seeing her so weak and he felt the same guilt knowing that even though he hadn't found her earlier, he was what was helping her through all of this. "You alright?" he asked as he gently tucked her black hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. "I just checked with the doctors, your condition's improved a lot."

HIkari nodded, "Kei," she said as he looked at her with these broken eyes.

"Yes," he said, his heart jumped in his chest. He didn't know what Hikari was going to ask him, but he wasn't going to run away whatever it was. He still believed that he was responsible for how she was now. He felt that if he had done more, worked harder, this would never have happened.

"I'd like a party," she said as he tried to force a smile and not show the fear he had of her being around other people. He didn't know how she would be around all of those guests and he wasn't sure he was going to be able to protect her if they were surrounded. He hadn't protected her before and he had needed to. However, how could he deny her what she really wanted.

"Sure," he nodded, "That sounds like a lot of fun."

….

….

 _Kei looked around the former home of the Hanazono family. After Hikari's death, they had sold this house and moved everything out. He had wanted to purchase it but was too late. He hadn't known that they were going to just sell and now a lot of what made Hikari herself was redecorated and disposed of._

 _It was always strange for him on this day. This would have been Hikari's twentieth birthday and he could just imagine the type of birthday he would have arranged for her. It would have included fireworks, delicious food, and everything he knew would make her happy._

 _All he had wanted for her was her happiness._

 _He hadn't wanted this, he hadn't wanted her birthday to be a time when he regretted her loss, when he thought about what she wouldn't have instead of what she would have. He sighed as he looked down, "well, number two," he said teasingly, "what should I donate to this year?" he asked._

 _That was always his birthday gift to her, a donation to a charity that she would have approved of in his name. He couldn't give the money to her and he had been turned down numerous times when trying to give money to the Hanazono family._

 _Even if he couldn't have her, even if the world had lost out on her, he would make sure that her name was remembered. At least, he had looked down at his arm to find his own reminder of her, his own remainder of her, her name deserved to be somewhere other than a tattoo on a nobody's skin._


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note:** Thank you for your patience with this upload, I've been working on many things and a lot of them are not to do with fanfiction. I do plan on updating this fic more frequently so I do hope that you enjoy it 😊 There is a schedule on my profile of when I hope to update each fic if you are interested as well. Thank you and enjoy.

 **Chapter Six – Rise of Hateful Emotions**

 _She was scared. Hikari Hanazono was terrified and she hated to admit to that kind of defeat. She couldn't break out of this cell and for some reason, these guys were strong enough to even stop Takishima from reaching her. He had always saved her before, wanted to protect her from all of the outside dangers. She felt a little annoyed that he wasn't here but he probably wouldn't be able to find her._

 _That was the scariest thought. Kei was so amazing at recovering whatever information he wanted to. He could memorize ID cards just by looking at them. He could scan documents and then remember all the information on them five years later. For some terrifying reason though, he was unable to find her._

" _So, they promised you to me today," a man said outside of her cage._

 _Hikari's body tightened. She knew that with the drugs that they had put her on and not having enough food or rest for the past maybe weeks, she was even unable to fight against a jerk like this. She had once thought that if she attacked someone as soon as they entered her cage, she could make an escape for the door and then figure out where the heck they had taken her._

 _She could have phoned him. If she had phoned him he would have come straight away. He would have flown on the first airplane or helicopter he could find._

 _Unfortunately, none of her attempts had actually been successful._

 _She was stuck here, alone, afraid, and soon there would be a man forcing himself on her and she didn't have Kei to help her. She felt broken and it wasn't just the physical damages to her body that felt like this. Her soul was broken and she was almost certain that soon her mind would be as well._

 _Then how would Kei accept her if he was to ever locate her._

…..

…..

"So," Akira smiled as she stood with Hikari and Kei out on the streets of London. She saw how Kei was squeezing Hikari's hand and knew that this was out of his fear that she would vanish or be taken from him. She could already feel that the blond was getting a bit nervous, but Hikari had requested that she go shopping and Kei couldn't tell her no. He was always unable to deny Hikari what she wanted.

"So," Akira repeated, "Hikari, is there any store in particular that you want to start with? There are some jewelry stores that look nice, some clothing shops, a hair salon," she pointed out.

Hikari paused before looking at Kei, "Would going to the hair salon take too much time from your day?" she asked him as Kei blinked in surprise but smiled.

"Of course not. This is my day. I do have to return to the company for Aoi and my father at some point, but today is just about you," he said with a grin and a kiss to her cheek. He scanned the area again. At least right now everything appeared safe but appearances didn't mean everything.

"You know, it would be cute to go short," Akira mused as Kei stood quietly, feeling nervous to be with his girlfriend after secretly observing the pressure she had been put under and the torture men had done to her. He wanted to take off and track each and every one of those men down and place them on life support. However, that wasn't what Hikari would want.

"Maybe around here," Hikari said as she put her fingers halfway up her neck, she looked over at Kei. "What do you think?" she asked as he smiled softly.

"I think that would be cute," he grinned to her. "So, let's get going and don't worry I'll pay for everything," he stared at the ground and hoped that everything would go well for Hikari. This woman in front of him, the woman he adored, she didn't deserve to go through any more pain in her life. As long as the world left her alone he could be satisfied.

"Wow, is that…" he heard a guy whisper to his friend and stopped. He squeezed Hikari's hand again as his eyes searched the crowd. Seeing a guy about five years older than himself meeting up with a girl, Kei's eyes tried to do a facial symmetry match and his stomach sank. He felt like he knew this guy, that he recognized…with another flash the idea of him forcing himself upon Hikari was all Kei could think about.

"I'll be right back," he said, "Why don't you two go inside and talk about hair styles," he pointed as Akira watched him. She saw the desperate look on his face as well as the anger that burned behind his eyes.

"Kei, are you alright?" Hikari asked before seeing the man's face relax as he nodded.

"You just take care of yourself," he said as he pressed a kiss to Hikari's forehead and then let Akira take her in for the hair styling. Kei didn't know how long this little talk would take with the guy, but he would try to be as quick as possible.

He slowly approached the man and his girlfriend and slid a hand onto his shoulder. "Hello," he said with a firm grip and smile that concealed all of his hatred for the man. "May I have a word with you?" he asked as the guy froze.

"Who the heck are you?" the man asked angrily. "I'm on a date," he said as the woman he was with tilted her head to the side.

"Greg, who is this?" she asked as she looked at Kei. "I think you might have confused my boyfriend with somebody else. Were you meeting somebody here?"

Kei laughed bitterly. "I am positive that I have the right man. You saw me before didn't you?" he asked, "with my own girlfriend," he said as the man paused meaning that he spoke too late for Kei not to be certain that this was someone who had abused Hikari.

"Your girlfriend?" he asked, "I've uh…never really met her."

Kei scoffed, "Well, I suppose that's true. You didn't meet her but you did fuck her, of course I'd expect you to have paid for that…privilege," he said as he said the word completely sickened by it. He took a deep breath in, "Of course I might be mistaking you for the wrong person," he said before snatching the wallet away. He opened it, memorized the ID, and then flung it back.

"So, Greg," Kei said as Greg watched him nervously. "If you don't want me to report things to your boss, you will tell this woman that you aren't a decent guy but a despicable rapist. Then you will never again come near the woman that I love. I'm responsible for dealing with the trash like you who want to hurt her."

Greg looked at his girlfriend who was looking both shocked and horrified.

"Amelia," he tried to reach out for her but she was shaking. "It was years ago," he said as Kei's glare darkened and his eyes narrowed as he looked at the man with a deeper level of hatred burning within him.

"So, you did rape a poor girl?" Amelia said. "You should be in prison," she said as Kei nodded.

"Don't worry, he will be," he said before he grabbed Greg by the collar of his shirt. "Trust me that you do not want to be on my bad side, "Kei growled again as the shadow of a demon could almost be seen behind him, "but if you ever come near Hikari ever again you will be sent a one way ticket to hell, it's an open invitation and it would be my honor to deliver it to you," he said as he saw the guy panic and stepped back.

He would leave this man with his own mess to deal with, the police would be there soon enough.

"Kei, is that you?" Kei heard a voice behind him and was surprised when he looked around and saw Yahiro with an amused smile on his face. "So, you are all but confessing that Hikari is still alive so I will ask you if that is a truth?"

"Hikari is in the hair salon, don't you dare disturb her," Kei said as he clenched and then unclenched his fist, he wanted to feel the rhythm out and doing this was calming him down.

"I won't," Yahiro said before taking a deep breath in. "So, was that one of the men that…defiled Miss…"

"I don't want to talk about it," Kei said trying to take careful inhales and exhales so that he wouldn't turn into the kind of monster that would terrify Hikari.

"Fair enough," Yahiro nodded and Kei turned to him. He wasn't quite sure how Yahiro wasn't being an annoying creep and was actually helping him stay grounded. "However, I don't want you to go to jail so please make sure not to kill anyone, okay?" he asked as Kei laughed and then jokingly asked.

"Does that include you?"

….

….

 _Satoru Takishima nervously approached his son as Kei sat reading a book in the study. He knew that his son had withdrawn from the world following the suicide attempt. He understood how hard it was for him not to be able to compete with Hikari. Now though it seemed that he was needed back at work. Satoru could only do so much by himself at the company without them wanting to make him dress in drag._

 _He was Kei's father and he was never given the respect that he deserved. He knew his son was smarter than him and more capable, but he was the one who raised his son and was his father. This time he had to drag Kei out of the world that he resided in within his own mind and show him how important things in the real world were._

 _He had no idea why his father in law thought the best thing for Kei was to be set up by a matchmaker._

" _Kei," Satoru asked nervously as he waited by the doorway of the study. After only a moment or two, Kei had placed a bookmark in where he was reading and looked back, removing the glasses he had been wearing. "I wanted to tell you that we've set things up with the young girl. Her name is Tiffany and she's Ameri-"_

" _No." Kei said immediately. He opened the book again and started to read._

 _This was the most bothersome type of thing for him. He didn't care about love, love wasn't going to make things better for him until he found her. He wasn't going to deny her existence and he was studying about abductions and human trafficking so he could get ideas on where she could be. He had to find her despite how everyone around him had seemed to give up on her._

" _She's a wonderful young lady, Kei" Satoru almost pleaded but Kei shook his head._

" _I'm not interested in any other women, I'm sorry if you have a problem with my heart belonging to Hikari but I really don't care. For me it's either that I'm with Hikari or I'm not with anyone. Don't worry though, I do plan on bringing her back here and then you can tell her yourself how much you believe in our relationship," he said coldly._

 _Satoru froze. How could he tell his son that he was talking himself into a relationship with a dead girl._


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy 😊

 **Chapter Seven**

" _You know," Tadashi panted as he had finally managed to track down the still grieving Kei, "I feel like I'm responsible for getting you to the graduation. You know it's not optional, right? I mean…my mother can be a terrifying woman."_

 _Kei shot a glare at Tadashi from his extremely messy hair. Hikari hadn't come back. She would have been disappointed in herself if she was to miss such an important academic event. He had tried to search for her over and over again in case she had hit her head somewhere and was suffering from amnesia. He had even sent people to search for her in other countries. Finn had offered to go search in her country to see if Hikari had somehow drifted off there._

 _It was no use, they weren't able to find her._

" _Do I look like I care?" Kei asked._

" _Well, you do look scary, but then I'm used to Akira, so…" Tadashi tried to shrug it off but nobody could say that Kei looked like he cared about that or anything else at that time. "So, you'll try to come."_

" _Let's just say that I'll be there if Hikari's there," Kei said stubbornly and with an expression that Tadashi couldn't argue with. Okay, so they were going to be down two SA members for graduation._

…..

…..

Kei smiled weakly as he got the text that Hikari was almost done with the hair appointment. He had tried to come in and be beside them, because of course nothing feels better than being _beside_ the woman you loved who had disappeared three years ago and had been taken advantage of, half an hour ago before hearing it was supposed to be a surprise.

Hadn't he had enough surprises to last a lifetime?

He had been the one who had found her, had saved her, he was the one who loved her and yet he didn't trust the world around her. If he had his way he would lock her up in a bubble, no, he would lock _them_ up together inside of a bubble where nothing would ever hurt them again. They would have everything that they could need without having to deal with the perverted creeps in the outside world.

That would be amazing.

However, even though he had liked doing things by himself, although he preferred it when it was himself _and Hikari_ , Hikari was a social person who liked helping others. That was what got her trapped in this situation to begin with. If only she was a little bit more stubborn and self-involved then they would be married and fulfilling their dream occupations side by side. That would be a lot more stress invoking than his current life.

Kei looked at his phone again and nodded as he read over the text.

'Come and be surprised' he read and smiled softly as he nodded and went back to the hair salon. He gave a slightly disappointed look as he saw that Akira was paying for everything already. How was he supposed to prove himself as her boyfriend and future husband when her best friend was covering all the bills. He wanted to spoil Hikari just as much as Akira did.

Kei looked over to see Hikari with a very layered look where her bangs were the same length as her hair and it was just slightly below her shoulders. She looked up at him through the messy hair that looked like something for the stereotypical schoolgirl in a more action oriented project than how she had it before. She still looked gorgeous though. Hell, she still looked gorgeous when she was pretending to be a boy and Kei hadn't given a damn who questioned his sexual preference at that time.

"It looks good," he grinned as he crouched down in front of her and smiled, his heart beating in his chest as he gave that very soft and playful grin. "How do you feel about it, Hikari?" he said as he reached out for her hand.

"It…makes me feel safe," she replied, "I think it looks good, lot easier to move," she said as she looked at her boyfriend who had the most adorable expression on his face. "Are you sure that short is okay?" she asked as he noted down her nervousness at asking him this. In the past she would have just done it and he would have complimented her and she would give some action pose and say something that at the same time sounded pretty silly and sounded pretty cool at the same time.

"That's great," Kei said as he allowed his hand to push through her hair until he could see her face. "Though, you don't have to worry about being safe anymore. I've got you. Akira and the rest have you as well."

"I'm glad you mentioned that, Kei, a lot of guys are really personal about the way that _their_ girl looks," Akira said as she rolled her eyes. "So, it's all done for. Now it's time for cute clothes shopping. I've already got lots of ideas in my head for things that will make you look really cute and adorable."

Kei shifted as he kissed Hikari's cheek and helped her stand. He felt guilty that he wanted to protest about anything too cute or something that would make other guys turn their heads. He didn't care how Hikari looked because no matter what, he would see her as beautiful, but if she aroused other men then he worried about the past and if one of _those_ people would turn up again.

"Could we…" Hikari said as they both noticed the change in her. Although Hikari was always polite, generous, self-sacrificing, and a really nice person she had always been certain on what she wanted and had rarely been hesitant apart from in denying a request for someone else. She would take on the world, or she used to be able to take the world on. Was it possible that she would never go back to being that independent woman that she had once been?

"We don't have to do cute, but I do think that you can look -" Akira started before Hikari cut her off.

"I'd like to have clothes that cover my skin and maybe a jacket, something heavier for protection," Hikari said with her eyes closed and her fists by her side.

"Sure," Kei nodded before Akira could argue back. "You're in control here and I don't really mind what you wear as long as you're happy," he said honestly before looking around to make sure that nobody else was spying on them. He wanted to get Hikari out of this city, out of this country, okay to put things simply if Kei Takishima could buy a rocket ship and a place where they could live on Mars for the rest of their life then he would.

"Okay, we'll look for something cool like that but I think you can still look cute wearing it," Akira thought to herself. "Plus," she pointed at Kei, "with this guy I could dress you in a burlap sack that actually had the word potatoes on it and he would think that you're a super model."

Kei laughed weakly, "Well, there's always Yappei," he commented. "Although, I do have to admit that even dressed up as a creepy demented bunny you were awfully cute to cuddle," he said as Hikari smiled hearing him say that.

What Kei didn't know was that when the hair stylist had complimented her, she had flinched and it had felt terrifying to hear those words. However, when she heard Kei Takishima tell her those things it was as if she was safe and protected. He had been her reason for always doing her best to get that number one spot, but he had also been standing alongside her in helping her. He was her hero and she didn't know the right way of expressing that to him to the level it was.

"It really doesn't matter?" she asked him as he looked at her confused, "in _there_ …I learned that men…"

"I'm not like those pigs," Kei said bluntly. "I would never treat you like that. I don't want you to dress up for me. I want you to wear what you want, to do what you want, for us to be where _you_ want to be."

Hikari looked at him surprised, "You mean…moving?" she asked although she couldn't hide the hope that running away from this place gave to her. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am," Kei said with a nod. "Wherever you want to go is fine, I can do all of my work remotely so I can be with you no matter where you want to be. As long as you're by my side, I'll be perfectly content," he said as he took her hand and squeezed it to show her his support.

"Then we can go back to Japan?" Hikari asked with a smile as he nodded.

"Yes, but let's make sure that everything is alright here, let's just focus on having a great day today," Kei said as his mind went to Sui and he hoped that Hikari would never ever learn that he had watched those videos just to identify the men who had abused her. He had his reasons for wanting to keep her safe, but he didn't think that she would be too happy to find out that he had watched her at her most vulnerable.

….

….

Whilst Kei was waiting by the dressing rooms with Akira, they heard footsteps as a man approached them. Kei froze, his body tensing protectively and he was almost ready to make a first attack on the guy when he realized who it was standing there. With a weak smile, he turned to see Atsushi Hanazono with hope dancing in his eyes.

"Hey," Akira said as she gave a small bow and blinked in surprise as Kei gave a deeper one. She knew that she shouldn't have been surprised, Kei had always blamed himself for Hikari not being there and for her death. He had always felt that he had owed a debt that could never be repaid to the Hanazono family.

Nobody else thought that this was his fault and after his suicide attempt they had tried to persuade him to not blame himself ever again over it. They were Hikari's family but obviously she meant so much to this man and he had convinced himself that he had failed her.

"I should be the one bowing that deep," Atsushi said as he rubbed the back of his neck. He had taken the death of his younger sister very badly and had been depressed for quite some time, even being unable to focus in his studies. The news that she was found was like the clouds were getting wafted away.

He just didn't want to tell her that he had a new and very meaningful relationship and Hikari obviously knew nothing about his…fiancée.

"So, you found her?" he asked before hearing the door open and saw Hikari standing there with black jeans, a black long sleeved shirt, and a black leather jacket. He walked over to her and stood facing her. "It's so good to see you again," he smiled to her, his eyes showing all of his hope and desire.

Hikari felt her breath catch in her lungs and she went over to him before throwing her arms around him. "Hi, bro" she said as she felt the tears in her eyes again. He pulled her close and she felt herself crying as he protected her. He was one of the only two men who would never be even slightly terrified of going against Kei if it was for her sake.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** So, I really enjoy writing these chapters but I feel really uncomfortable with sex scenes themselves. I don't really write them because I can't do them justice and it actually makes me uncomfortable _to_ write them so whilst I will hint at them please don't pressure me to put in lemons or anything. If you want to read this fic without them thank you, please enjoy.

 **Chapter Eight :: Black Panties**

 _Life was always a series of events that had a beginning and an ending. A lot of people thought that what they did in life and their story had some kind of impact on the world. It rarely did._

 _All of that studying and training and practicing that she had put forth into becoming first place, what had that meant for her? Hikari couldn't figure out how to avoid the gas, she didn't have the physical ability to escape from this cage and the practicing that she would have to do was the least beautiful of all._

 _Nothing that she had held in her heart mattered any more and that pair of black panties they had given to her said it all._

 _Humans weren't meant for independence, they were meant to sell themselves and their body and their brain for the love and desires of those stronger. At least, Hikari noted, she had something that she could do within this darkness. She could learn how to not feel the pain._

...

….

Atsushi felt relieved when the four of them were taken to a table in the corner of the restaurant. He knew that he should be feeling bad about crashing what was a day between Hikari, her best friend, and her boyfriend, but he really didn't care at all. This was his sister who he had struggled to accept as dead. She had gone through so much and despite how the Takishima family was trying to stop the media from publishing her name in human trafficking stories, it was spreading.

The whole world would know soon enough, but at least for now he could let his sister enjoy her breath of free air.

"Don't worry about the co-" Kei said as he looked at the Hanazonos but Atsushi shook his head, challenging the blond. He liked Kei and accepted that this was a great fit for his sister, but he didn't want to be looked down on. Kei could pay for his sister, it would probably make him happy to do that, but Atsushi would pay for himself.

He wanted nothing more than to keep his little sister safe and make sure she was as happy as possible.

"I've got it," he nodded to himself before seeing Kei pick up his sister's hand and bring it to his lips.

The older male appreciated the love that this man had for his sister, he really did support them, but was it natural to get triggered by the simple kiss of a hand? He just wanted to make sure that Hikari would never be hurt again. He looked down at the menu and saw Akira watching him.

"So," he said as he looked at all the 'British' food, "How's Karino-san?" he asked.

Akira laughed softly to herself, "You mean Tadashi? He's lucky that I haven't murdered him yet for his behavior," she joked before seeing Atsushi's weak smile. She laughed, trying to ease the tension that was there for all of them. "No, he's doing well. I think he really wants to do another triathlon, apparently for him, staying still is boring."

"He's always been like that, hasn't he?" the black haired man laughed before seeing Kei whisper something into Hikari's ear and tensed a little. He turned to the two of them, "Hikari, I am so sorry," he said looking incredibly guilty. "It was supposed to be my role to keep you safe and make sure nothing like this ever happened to you. I apologize for being a terrible older brother."

"Uh…" Hikari said as she looked at her family member, "No, it's really…" Without a word, Hikari had pulled away from Kei and wrapped her arms around her brother. "I love you, big brother" she said as he held her to him.

He felt relieved that she was here, but he had to admit that he was jealous of the bond between her and the blond. Kei was such a good guy when it came to his feelings and actions regarding Hikari and even with other people he was noble. Still, the distance that the blond kept between most people and the fact that Atsushi had had to save his life physically caused him to worry a little about Hikari's safety and happiness in this relationship.

"What are your plans for tomorrow night?" Atsushi asked nervously. He didn't want to upset Hikari by giving her too much information about what had happened to him. He would much prefer that she would just forget what had happened to her. He didn't even know if that was possible.

He didn't need to tell her that his fiancée was already in England.

"I don't think I have…" Hikari said as she looked at Kei, seemingly trying to check with him rather than relying on her own memories.

"You want to go on a double date with your fiancée?" Kei said without any hesitation whatsoever. He looked to his girlfriend as Hikari smiled and closed her eyes.

"I'd really like that, but are you sure that I look okay. I don't want to make a bad impression on her and embarrass you," she admitted with complete honesty.

"Never," Atsushi shook his head, "You will never be able to embarrass me. I'm so lucky to have you in my life, little sister."

"We all are," Akira added feeling that she was getting to be ignored. If only she and Hikari were actual sisters she could strive for more time with just the two of them together but maybe family was what was most important for her. Well, if Hikari was going to move to Japan then she would just have to come after her dragging Tadashi with her.

….

….

"I would never hurt her," Kei said as he came to sit down on the bench where the older Hanazono sibling was staring off into space. Hikari and Akira had gone to look at more lingerie together and he felt that as long as he stayed very near it would be alright. Now there were two guys protecting her. "I don't blame you for asking yourself that. I'm not going to act as if it's a joke, I've had to live with that pain myself and I would never let anyone hurt her."

"Have you seen you?" Atsushi asked as he looked at the younger man, "Do you even know who you are? Even someone older like me knows that you're _experienced_ ," he said as Kei rolled his eyes.

"Is it because I'm rich or because I'm attractive?" he asked as he looked out at the world around them. "Do you know how many times my family appears in the news or in gossip magazines that show more than talent sector celebrities in them?" he asked before smiling away the pain.

"All in the lives of the rich and famou-" Atsushi shrugged before Kei cut him off.

"I'm a virgin," the blond admitted, his face not showing any sign of embarrassment or shame about it. He laughed as Atsushi stared at him in surprise during the silence. Kei didn't even have to look at him to know what he was thinking. "Yes, even among the rich and powerful we do still exist. My most exciting relationship whilst I wasn't with Hikari has been with data and spreadsheets. Even though I'm here now and even with what I know about sex, I am not some pervert who needs to find pleasure somewhere. What I do know is how much I love your sister."

"You do realize that a relationship doesn't have to involve se-" Atsushi said before Kei cut him off again.

"I fell in love with Hikari when we were children. I fell in love with her strength and her courage and her passion. I fell in love with the part of her that didn't think that I was an inhuman monster and the part that tried to understand me even as her rival." Kei looked down at his hands and sighed. "I've been misunderstood my entire life by those surrounding me, but not by her. That is what is romantic to me. I'm sure that I will be _with_ your sister like that in the future but until she's ready for it, I'll just continue to love her."

"I can tell why the thought of you was what motivated her to live," Atsushi replied which was meant to be more comforting than Kei took it for.

…..

…..

Hikari looked out again at her brother and her boyfriend sitting together on the bench. She felt so nervous being surrounded yet again by underwear and she wanted to be with the two men she loved so deeply. She picked up a pair of black, lacy panties and her stomach churned. She felt as if she was about to start hyperventilating with just the thought of wearing them.

"Those are cute," Akira commented before seeing the tense way that Hikari was standing and the tears that were able to be seen in her eyes despite the short hair covering them. "Are you okay? Let's get out of here, maybe this was a bad idea to come in."

"Does Kei want me to wear these?" Hikari asked with a strange tone to her voice as her fingers pinched the air above the panties in the same way as an arcade crane would grab the air over a toy that someone was attempting to win.

"That guy," Akira shrugged, "No, I doubt that he would care what you…"

"Will he end things if I don't please him?" Hikari asked as her mind went through the last years of her life and how she would be tortured if she wasn't able to bring pleasure to those who asked her for it. She didn't want to think this was all a trap and that she would be cast aside if she wasn't able to have sex with him.

That was one of the things that all men wanted, wasn't it?

"Hikari?" Akira asked as she tried to comfort her friend. "Why don't you go out there and I'll just pick up some practical things," she suggested as Hikari nodded.

She walked on shaky legs towards the exit and saw the two men run towards her. She wrapped her arms around Kei who pulled her in close. "I can't…" she whispered as if paralyzed with the fear. "I can't dress for you."

"For me?" Kei asked as he let his hand rub her back in an attempt to calm her. "You could wear a burlap sack and still look beautiful," he tried to remind her. "I'm not asking anything of you other than you to be yourself," he said as he let her face into his chest.

One day he would hopefully take the pain away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 _Hikari's eyes widened as another man was led into her prison cell. She saw the man give her captor a large stack of money and she managed to clear her head enough from the gas to look at the person who was about to violate her. She flinched. She hated when the guy was blond. In Japan not a lot of people were naturally blond, there was always some strand of black or brown in their hair if you looked closely enough._

 _Blonds were different. When she was faced with a blond then she would always picture him. Everything that went across their face, their disgusted or guilty expression she could see on his. Yet, the only way for survival was to allow this pain to continue._

 _Takishima would never accept her if he knew that this was what she was doing. He would never want to hold her again or tell her he loved her. When she saw the disgust in the man's eye or his displeasure, she could imagine Kei there. She could imagine him telling her that he hated what she had become. She could imagine him not wanting anything more to do with her._

 _The blond came towards her and as he unzipped his pants, Hikari could almost visualize the person she had fallen in love with there watching her. He wouldn't help her. All he would see was a disgusting whore._

 _She knew that the word Kei would pass through her lips multiple times in her sleep tonight…if she could sleep that is._

…..

…..

Kei had already met Atsushi's fiancée in the past. Yes, it had been a brief encounter with the two of them, but he had been introduced and he knew how much help she had been to the older Hanazono sibling. She was kind, gorgeous, and worked nearly as hard as Hikari always had. Kei had no doubt that she would accept his girlfriend without touching upon the past few years.

Hikari was not the same.

She was dressed in a leather jacket, a black shirt, and black pants with boots. It seemed as if she was trying to blend into the background and not be noticed. She held tight to one of Kei's hands with both of hers and she seemed to be in pain. Kei wasn't too sure of how to best comfort her so he would do whatever it was she needed.

Hopefully she would tell him what it was she needed and not shy away as if she could inconvenience him.

"Are you alright?" the blond asked gently as he gazed upon the woman he loved. "We don't have to be here if it's too hard, I'm sure your brother won't mind." Kei came around to face her, not removing his hand from her tight hold. He allowed his other to very slowly reach towards her cheek.

He had seen some of their male friends try to get closer to her, he had even seen her father try and get this close but she would flinch or back away and then start panicking. Even someone like Jun, who was not in his dazzling mode, had caused her to be afraid.

Although, he had seen on the security footage that they had forced her to entertain all different types of men, or at least men with money. They had kept her as a sex slave. Still, whenever he touched her she calmed down. He felt guilty about that. He didn't deserve to be the one who could keep her calm, he hadn't found her in time. He hadn't been able to protect her.

"It'll be okay," he said as he kissed her hand and saw her smile weakly.

"What if…I'm not good enough for…" Hikari trailed off and Kei shook his head. He wanted to do whatever he could to motivate this woman in front of him and have her believe in herself again. When they were in high school, she would always be able to stand up for herself and protect her body and her heart. It was going to be hard to motivate her to do that now.

"You are amazing. You have so many people who love you. I love you," he told her with a grin. "Remember when you tried to give me that riceball that everyone thought was a cannonball," he started as Hikari laughed and walked into his chest allowing Kei to wrap an arm around her.

"That was a disaster," she smiled, "I still can't cook. I mean what kind of a…"

"It was delicious," Kei told her with a grin as he kissed the top of her head. "You put so much work into that and you did it with passion. You told me that you wanted to make me something that I could eat. Even though everyone considered you bad at cooking, I love your food. I don't know what they were talking about," he laughed as Hikari stared at him.

"I had some of the leftovers and they were terrible," she told him, "I can't believe you ate that."

"Well I still think it was some of the best cooking that I've ever had," Kei replied stubbornly as Hikari nodded. She continued to allow her forehead to rest against his chest but her hands let go of his to wrap around his body. This man was special. Takishima was special. He would always make her smile, always attempt to comfort her, always tell her that he loved her. She was lucky to have him.

Especially since she believed that she should have lost his faith in her.

"Are we late?" Atsushi laughed as he approached the two of them, "or are we interrupting something?" he grinned as he saw the way that this very rich young man was able to take care of his sister.

"Oh my gosh," a very beautiful brunette around Hikari's age smile as she stepped forward and then bowed, "I'm Kairi Yamamoto, you must be Atsushi's sister. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said as Hikari dropped down to a bow as well.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you too," Hikari said rather stiffly as Kairi turned to Atsushi.

"Don't they make such a cute couple," she said before smiling at Kei, "It's good to see you again. You're definitely smiling more than before…" she said as Hikari felt herself stiffen. She looked at her boyfriend, she didn't want to think about the kind of depression she had brought to him by being captured. If only she hadn't have been so stupid, maybe then things would have worked out better.

"Of course I'm happy, I have Hikari by my side," Kei smiled at Hikari. Hikari knew by his look that he was trying to help her and that if there was something that made this meeting too uncomfortable for her, he would be willing to leave. They could spend the night just the two of them. He just wanted her to be safe and happy and he hated to admit that any time they were separated, Kei was worried that she would somehow get hurt and then taken away somewhere he wouldn't be able to find her.

There were too many predators out there in the world and he had promised himself that Hikari would never be their prey again.

"So, I'm really excited to know more about you Hikari-chan," Kairi said as she looked at Atsushi. "This guy loves you so much, he's so ecstatic to get you back."

Kei placed a hand on Hikari's shoulder. He had hoped that the past wouldn't have been brought up. To talk about it so casually felt wrong and he didn't want Hikari to feel awkward about the situation. He would never know what it meant to be taken as a sex slave. Even if he was drugged or even if he had become unconscious, he knew that he could fight against anybody. He hated to rub it in, but he was stronger than Hikari and he had been getting stronger since her disappearance. It was therefore his job to protect her.

"I'm…not that special," Hikari said before looking at Kei who was trying to figure out if there was a way of helping her other than standing by her side. "I'm more excited to know about you," she said as she looked at Atsushi.

"Shall we go and get dinner then?" he asked, "I'll split the bill with you Takishima," he said as Kei paused. He looked down and smiled as he held onto Hikari's hand as she grabbed back onto his. People knew him too well. They knew that he wanted to pay for everything that was remotely to do with Hikari but maybe this was Atsushi's way of saving face in front of his fiancé, he could respect that.

"Sounds good to me," Kei said before kissing Hikari's cheek and leaning in closer in order to whisper in her ear, "Are you doing okay?"

Hikari nodded but paused as she saw Kairi watching the two of them. She drew towards Kei and he blinked before pulling her in closer and more securely.

"You two are the cutest, are you going to get married?" she asked as Hikari froze.

"I…one day. We're not at that point yet," she said as she looked over at Kei who was nodding along to that. Hikari had the feeling that if she turned to her boyfriend and told him that she wanted to elope that very night that he would be down with that. He would fly them somewhere or find somewhere where they could just get married and then they would plan a wedding at some later point. She knew that he didn't need some long engagement, but she did. As much as she loved him she didn't want to be trapped.

"Definitely one day in the future," Kei nodded.

Atsushi looked at Kairi, "They've been friends or rivals or something since they were kids. Takishima is incredibly strong, incredibly fast, and incredibly smart. He's one of those guys who could run a business at the age of four. My sister doesn't like being beaten and so she studied and trained and did whatever she could to beat him."

Kairi squealed a little bit, "That's so cute. I'm sure that Takishima-san isn't the best at everything. That would mean he would be some kind of a robot, right?"

Hikari quickly took a look at Kei. She knew that this was something that he had heard his entire life and a lot of the time during his childhood it had alienated him. She also knew that the reason why he had fallen for her was because she hadn't treated him like a machine. She had understood that he was talented and she had allowed him to show some other parts of his personality. He had scary talents and skills, but he was still just a man who loved her.

His loving side, his embarrassed side, his cute side was her favorite part of him. It didn't matter what abilities he had or didn't have, as long as he was the same Takishima then things would be alright. She smiled as they approached the restaurant. Maybe she wasn't ready to go inside yet, maybe she wasn't ready to have questions directed at her that she would be terrified to answer. Still, she had her support right beside her. She had a man who had always been a source of motivation and her personal source of strength.

She looked at him, "You're not a robot," she told him as he laughed and closed his eyes.

"I know that, I've come to terms with that," he smiled with a soft laugh.

"I love you," she told him again and Kei bowed his head with a smile.

"I love you too," he said as he kissed her. He would always repeat those words no matter how many times she asked him to say them.


	10. Chapter 10

_Kei had come to visit the shrine and get some fresh air. He had a company meeting soon, they had forced him to be there and forced him to wear a tie and suit that felt much too tight for him and made him feel that they were cutting off his oxygen. He felt lost and alone and he hadn't expected to arrive at the shrine and see that it was a wedding._

 _Right in front of his eyes was something that he now knew he couldn't have…well until he was able to find her that was. He knew that he would never forget her and he couldn't imagine anyone else standing in Hikari's place. Maybe they should make Sui the heir, he was smart and he would probably have children. That way the stupid Takishima lineage could continue._

 _With halted breath, Kei stared ahead at where the man was gazing at his bride with so much affection and love. This joy that someone who never believed that this love would be stolen from him would have. If only the world hadn't changed the way that it had. If only he could be with the woman he loved._

 _If none of this had happened, would he be marrying her? Would he have that smile on her face? Would she be here with that smile on her face instead of everyone else trying to make her become part of the forgotten._

 **Chapter Ten**

Kei looked across at Hikari as she had curled up on his bed. He had been nervous about her being here with him and had even suggested the guest bedroom to her. After all that she had been through perhaps sharing the same bed as a man wasn't something that he should be endorsing. "Are you alright?" he asked her as he sat on the bed in front of her. "I can understand if you don't want me close by. I want you to feel safe more than anything and if being in the guest room helps with that…"

"You worry about me a lot," Hikari said as she looked into his eyes and smiled. She knew that he would always want to keep her safe. He would always fight against whatever powers wanted to render her weak and helpless in the future. She felt at peace with him in front of her.

"Well, that's because I love you a lot," Kei said with his winning smile. "Besides, I thought that analyzing situations actually led you to get smarter, isn't that what you once told me a long time ago."

"Perhaps," Hikari nodded, "although knowing me, I would probably have said that by only looking back on the mistakes and the things that went wrong can you make sure to avoid those things in the future," she shivered and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Maybe if I try to forgive myself and my past for people being able to take advantage of me and only look at me as a sex sym-"

"Screw them," Kei said looking down sadly. "I mean it, Hikari, don't give any of them a second thought. Don't give them the satisfaction of being thought about. Erase it or I promise you," Kei said as he leaned forwards and placed a kiss on the lips of the woman he loved, "I will _help_ you to forget about them."

Hikari nodded as tears came to her eyes again. "I just…all those days we could have been competing, we could have been married by now. I could have been a Takishima and…"

"You can always become a Takishima, I am always going to want to marry you," Kei attempted to persuade her. He let his hand rest on her cheek and brought it up. "Whatever you need, if I can give it to you then I will."

Hikari smiled thoughtfully before looking up at him again. "Can I look at your computer?" she asked as Kei paused. He believed that he had locked all of those files up in a secret area that nobody could find. He didn't think that Hikari would be poking around in his files anyway. He was more concerned about keeping her away from the news than anything else. After being locked up for so long, it might be a shock to find out all the unpleasantness that had happened in the world around them.

"If you feel nervous you'll turn it off, right?" Kei asked with the concern filling his facial expression. "Any anxiety at all and you'll make sure that you step away from it?"

Hikari nodded and smiled as Kei let her on.

"I should have really bought you a computer of your own, one of the new laptops," he told her. "I'll do that tomorrow." He grinned as he saw her turn to him in surprise.

"I can…I can try to pay for it…you don't need to…" she said as he continued to grin.

"I love buying you things," he admitted as she blushed and looked towards the computer screen as it loaded. She saw him pick up a book and so decided to check online. Maybe her email account would still work and she could see what people had sent her.

…..

…..

Kei had finally fallen asleep. Something about Hikari being safe and knowing that she was right next to him even if she might stumble across some world news that would make her feel a bit uncomfortable, made everything feel more at ease and he could find some relaxation with her. He didn't know that when a website had tried to play a strangely formatted video clip it would also drag up some files that he hoped that she would never ever see.

That's when he had woken up after being slapped and he sat up straight staring at the girl before him who looked as if he had just murdered somebody. He paused and tried to figure out what she had learned.

"Hikari?" he asked as Hikari shivered.

"You watched them?" She pointed to the computer and Kei felt his insides twist up until he had trouble breathing. He paused as he looked at the way that Hikari stood in front of him. He had betrayed her. He knew that that was what she felt and in a way he had. He had become a repugnant person but he had tried to do it for her own good.

"I…It made me feel sick, it killed me and broke my heart but I had to," Kei attempted to stress and Hikari shivered.

"Because it was fun for you watching the person you say you love getting hurt in those kinds of ways. How could you watch them?" she sobbed, "I had a feeling the police would be watching them but you. I trusted you."

"And I felt that even if you hated me, I would make sure to get my revenge on anyone who had hurt you in the past. I never wanted you to be in an area where they could approach you. I always wanted to be on guard, make sure none of those sick perverts felt that they could get away with what they've done without any consequences," Kei said as he saw her standing there.

He would understand if she just yelled out that she hated him, but she fell to the ground and shivered.

Kei had the sense not to reach out to her. "It killed me inside, it made me hate myself for doing it, but you know how I am with faces and that I can remember people instantly. I have the same tools that the police do and better knowledge than any of them as well," he said before looking down. "I knew that even if you wound up hating me I would protect you because you being alright is worth so much more to me than anything else."

"Even if I hated you?" Hikari asked as she looked up and saw the honesty in his eyes, "Please don't tell me you got a sexual thrill-"

"Never," Kei cut her off. "I would never do something like that and I am sick that I had to do that, but years ago, when this happened I could have kept you safe. It doesn't matter what happens to me, Hikari. It doesn't matter if I'm alone for the rest of my life or that you never want to see me again. It doesn't matter if the Takishima family is left without its heir, the only thing that matters to me is you being safe and you getting the air – the freedom that you deserve."

Hikari took deep breaths in and then placed a hand on the cheek that she had just slapped. She didn't say anything but leaned in and kissed him before pulling back tears in her eyes. "Do you see me as weak?" she asked, "Do you see me as pitiful?"

"No," Kei replied honestly. He took her hand, "No, I hate them for what they did to you. I wish that I could kill all of them and then die myself but no, not you. I did this, as messed up as it is, because I love you. I will do anything in my power to make sure that nobody touches you again."

"Because you want to protect me?" Hikari asked as she looked at him with more understanding that Kei both expected and felt that he deserved. "I love you, Takishima. I'm mad at you, but I love you and I don't want…"

"You have every reason in the world to be mad at me," Kei told her. "I failed as your boyfriend but -"

"Hopefully after tonight you won't fail as my husband," she said to him as Kei's eyes widened. What on earth did she mean by that? "Tonight. I want to elope tonight," she said as Kei took a short breath in and nodded slowly. "I want you by my side. I hate that you saw that, but I know you, I know that you did that to keep me safe and protect me and I believe you that it broke you to see that because every time you get hurt or sick, I feel myself breaking."

Kei nodded slowly, "You really are far too good for me," he told her.

"Then that means I win," Hikari nodded.

 **AN:**

Thank you to everyone who has favorited/followed this fic and everyone who supports this fic regardless if you have or not. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. A special shout out to: **Unknown Reviewer** for reviewing the previous chapter 😊


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